Unaccompanied Foreign Minors in Paris - Sophot.com€™ll write a letter contesting the decision to the judge for juveniles You’ll enclose your assessment report And a copy of your

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Unaccompanied Foreign Minors in Paris

Photographic documentary by

Aurélie LECARPENTIER

Paris 2014 - 2015

Photo 1 - MIE “Mineur Isolé Etranger”or “Unaccompanied Foreign Minor” It is the start of winter You’re always left to your own devices Living rough French law protects you Like any young people your age Whatever your nationality Until you’re 18.

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Photo 2 – Jemmapes gymnasium In order to escape the cold You squatted the gym Spent the night there unlawfully The next morning, the warden called his boss You were asked to leave In the end you accepted Thinking that you’d get emergency accommodation.

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Photo 3 - PAOMIE, Permanence d'Accueil et d'Orientation des Mineurs Isolés Étrangers, Centre for Reception and Triage of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors Your job is to assess the people in front of you At the end of an interview You grant them shelter, or not The judge for juveniles will confirm or reject your decision.

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Photo 4 - OPP, Ordonnance de Placement Provisoire Ruling for provisional placement You are delivered - or not - by the judge for juveniles Also known as « placement in shelter” You are supposed to ensure the protection of a young person until his or her status can be assessed, or until he or she turns 18 You cannot run for more than 6 months After that, either you are placed in care until you are 18 or your application is denied.

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Photo 5 - Kejvin, You weren’t able to prove your young age at the Centre for reception and triage So you won’t benefit from the juvenile protection scheme You need to get your assessment report from the France Terre d’Asile (“France, land of asylum”) organization You’ll write a letter contesting the decision to the judge for juveniles You’ll enclose your assessment report And a copy of your papers It will take some time Between one and seven months to obtain a hearing.

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Photo 6 - Emmanuel, You start working Stacking the shelves in a supermarket It’s a stroke of luck but a trap at the same time Your application for secondary school is being processed You’re leaving the educational system to join the world of work It is a long journey when you don’t have your papers Working illegally No payslip Little proof of your time spent in France.

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Photo 7 - Chams, You were one of the many who slept outside the headquarters of France Terre d’Asile The organization which “assesses” the UFM After the squatting of the Jemmapes gym Another gym was appropriated to accommodate you for the night When you arrive at 6.30pm you get some soup, a hot meal, some juice, a packet of biscuits and a bag of crisps After a hot shower you can go off to sleep Rolled up in your paper sheet and two blankets Your folding army surplus bed amongst 49 others Tomorrow morning you’ll have to leave at 8, after a glass of milk A frugal breakfast to keep you going until the evening.

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Photo 8 - ASE, Aide Sociale à l'Enfance (Social aid for juveniles) You are there to protect the young Anyone less than 18 Must be cared for, regardless of gender, Religion, origin, or nationality.

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Photo 9 – Placed in care, Decided by the judge for juveniles You give individualized education To unaccompanied minors Through the Aide Sociale à l’Enfance They are placed in hotels or homes Until they’re 18 You can be renewed annually for three years By the signature of a Young Adult Contract Between the young person and the President of the local council.

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Photo 10 - Maï, Your patience has limits And when those limits are passed Fatigue takes over It kills everything Speech, willpower.

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Photo 11 - Journalists, You are the link between the unaccompanied foreign minors and the public You try to explain their conditions Some don’t want to be filmed Afraid of losing their anonymity Afraid that their words might be misinterpreted.

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Photo 12 - Danielle, Your unerring faith is you best quality With calm determination You put applications together, step by step You defend children’s rights You organize workshops To prepare for adult life at 18 You help with teaching How to write young adult contracts (“Contrats Jeunes Majeurs” (CJM)).

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Photo 13 - Mohammed,

You've just been served with an OQTF, Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Français, or an Injunction to leave France within a month Turned 18 only recently You didn't think that this could happen It is the school holidays Your school isn't aware And you don't know how to let the teachers know.

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Photo 14 - Issam, From time to time you come back to see those who are still in difficulty You were luckier You broke into a building You were smoking dope You were arrested by the police Two days in custody and then an emergency hearing before the judge for juveniles He passed you on to the Secteur Éducatif Mineur Non Accompagné (SEMNA) (department of education for unaccompanied minors) Which sent you to a hotel Your costs are covered by the Aide Sociale à l’Enfance (ASE) You’re hoping for a place in a home One of your friends has been in custody several times Sent back out onto the street without going before a judge He keeps on doing petty crime in the hope that he will be taken….. into care.

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Photo 15 - Drissa, You work part time in a garage You already have the promise of a job Once you turn 18 You’ll need to ask the authorities So that your temporary residence permit shows that you are “in employment” Or a “part time worker”

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Photo 16 – The barrister, The unaccompanied minors apply to the president of the court Ask for advice from a lawyer And the services of a translator if required You are selected by the president of the court Who passes the case to the judge for juveniles Who will call the young person to the bar.

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Photo 17 - Aboubacar, Your story is not clear There are many points of incoherence You hesitate You don’t know what was the date when you arrived in France You don’t know the age of your parents Don’t show your isolation You are not considered to be an “Unaccompanied Foreign Minor”.

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Photo 18 - Mirwais, Someone in the home told you that you cost a lot 300 euro daily You wonder where the money has gone to You have the bare minimum to survive.

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Photo 19 - Awrangzip, You came to France When you were just 16 Placed first in a hotel and then in a home You took French lessons Without being formally registered for school The care you had until you turned 18 is now finished You have nowhere to go.

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Photo 20 - CASNAV, Centre Académique pour la Scolarisation des enfants allophones Nouvellement Arrivés et des enfants issus de familles itinérantes et de Voyageurs. (Academy for Newly-arrived, non-French speaking children and those from travelling families) You are run by your local educational authority You subject your students to a written and oral test in French and maths. In order to guide the student towards the field that is best suited.

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Photo 21 - Jaoued, You have been summoned by the judge for juveniles to the Hôtel-Dieu At the Unité Médico-Judiciaire (UMJ) department A doctor will perform an X-ray examination of your left wrist An of your teeth That will indicate whether you are a minor Or the age group to which you belong.

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Photo 22 - CRE, Centre de Réception des Étrangers (Centre for the reception of foreigners) The place where every foreign adult Must file an application And ask for an appointment For an ESA, Examen de sa Situation Administrative (Assessment of status).